The team of less than two dozen Navy SEALs from Seal Team 6 huddled in one fast boat and headed toward the Somali shoreline under the cover of darkness in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Three more small boats with additional SEALs flanked the assault teams craft, to provide back-up and assist with the planned extraction of an al Shabaab warlord named Ikrima.

According to multiple U.S. military sources, the lead boat landed, and the assault team hit the beach near the Southern Somali town of Barawe, headed for the fortified seaside compound of their target. U.S. intelligence had determined that Ikrima, one of two terror suspects targeted by the military in simultaneous raids thousands of miles apart this weekend, planned the terror groups operations outside of Somalia.

The SEALs entered the compound and took the positions they had selected based on the intelligence collected in advance of the raid.

Then a lone al Shabaab fighter walked out into plain view, smoked a cigarette, and went back inside, one source familiar with the details of the raid said. The fighter played it cool, and gave no indication that he had spotted the SEALs. But he came back out shooting, firing rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle.

Soon the American commandos were under siege from the warlords well-armed fighters. Gunfire swept toward their positions and grenades began to rain down, multiple military sources said.

Several of the SEALs could see Ikrima through the windows of the compound, but couldnt get to him. The SEALs continued to take fire while trying to find a way to get closer to their target.

I also dont like this crap about sending them to arrest people. They are trained to break stuff and kill people and thats what they should do.

This was a high value target...someone who is worth far more alive and in interrogation than dead. Although it would be better if he was killed in the raid if they couldn't capture him alive, it was very much worth the risk considering the value of the intelligence he could have provided. And yes, the risk of American casualties was worth it, because ultimately it will save lives.

27
posted on 10/07/2013 3:56:44 PM PDT
by rottndog
('Live Free Or Die' Ain't just words on a bumber sticker...or a tagline.)

Then a lone al Shabaab fighter walked out into plain view, smoked a cigarette, and went back inside, one source familiar with the details of the raid said. The fighter played it cool, and gave no indication that he had spotted the SEALs. But he came back out shooting, firing rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle.

I wonder what the plan was?

30
posted on 10/07/2013 4:03:13 PM PDT
by ansel12
( 'I'm on That New Obama Diet... Every Day I Let Vladimir Putin Eat My Lunch' .)

The real enemy of our Military is 0bama and the 0bama crowd plus all democRATs. The previous is a true statement. I pray our Military does not trust this enemy known to each of us as 0bama, the 0bama crowd and all democRATs. Please God protect our Military from these people.

38
posted on 10/07/2013 4:16:34 PM PDT
by no-to-illegals
(Scrutinize our government and Secure the Blessing of Freedom and Justice)

As a leftist with dictatorial aspirations, the kenyan fears the military. All leftists in power fear the military, even after they have gone to great lengths to emasculate the officer corps and stuff the organization with more “reliable” troops, they still fear the formal military. The hardest part to neutralize is also the part most feared- the Spec Forces guys. Disbanding them is just as dangerous as leaving them in place because it is feared that they would provide a nucleus of effective resistance. The obvious treatment is to get them killed off while you degrade the training of replacements.

“”The anti smoke zealots have even forced terrorist forts to go no smoking.””

That’s what I thought but my first thought was this came from a movie...stepping outside for a cigarette, spotting an enemy, stepping back inside. I bet he didn’t step outside without his weapon tho’. He only went back inside to summon the others....Of course, a gun shot would have done that.

Sounds like a first class fuster cluck: nobody hit at all? Sorry; every real firefight I ever saw, somebody got hit. Sounds more like the SEALs didn’t achieve surprise and got chased off by noise.

Three kids of combatants-Killers, Killers, and Fodder. Killers are the rare 10 percent or so who aim and deliberately fire during a wild firefight. Fillers are noisemakers- shoot like hell, but mostly don’t hit anything. They are the greatest proportion in fighting units. Usually more danger to everyone.

Fodder are going to die or get somebody else killed no matter what you do for them. They’re the ones who stand on the skyline, sneak smokes at night, sleep on ambushes.

Sounds like the SEALs were the wrong bunch for this job.

48
posted on 10/07/2013 4:26:13 PM PDT
by Chainmail
(A simple rule of life: if you can be blamed, you're responsible.)

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